1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel apparatus for converting a semiautomatic pistol (hereinafter referred to as a “pistol”) into a simulator so that the pistol converted into a simulator (hereinafter referred to as a “weapon simulator”) can be used for training individuals in the use of a semiautomatic pistol without having to fire live ammunition. More particularly, the weapon simulator provides a realistic firing sensation by providing the proper feel and balance, the proper trigger response, the proper action of the slide mechanism, the proper recoil and the locking of the slide mechanism in the proper position after the specific number of shots have been fired by the weapon simulator, while marking the point of aim with a laser, which makes the weapon simulator a safe, realistic and cost effective training tool.
2. Prior Art
Various attempts have been made to develop a realistic weapon simulator or to retrofit a working pistol into a simulator with limited success. From U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,437, a laser beam weapon is known that is connected to a source of compressed air via a hose-pipe to push back the carriage. The disclosed weapon is a special replica with a modified trigger mechanism. The combination of the features of this weapon prevents it from providing a realistic feel of a real weapon. The firearm recoil simulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,999 provides a recoil system via an air line coming in through the nuzzle, which does not leave room for a laser pointer in the barrel and the simulator has a bulky air valve that hangs from the handle of the simulator that prevents the simulator from duplicating the feel of a real weapon. The retrofittable laser and recoil system for a firearm described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,300 does retrofit an actual firearm, however, the recoiling element is placed in the magazine. The recoiling element does not push back the slide and does not cycle the semiautomatic weapon's mechanism, thus only offering limited realism. The simulated weapon described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,738 uses a special gas cartridge in the barrel of the weapon to activate a pressure switch within the barrel to activate a light emitter and does not provide a realistic feel of a real weapon. The laser pistol described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,141 is a replica of a weapon that has an electronic trigger mechanism that does not offer the realistic feel of a real weapon. The laser pistol described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,350 has several shortcomings as a simulator. The simulator uses a magazine connection piece, which takes up space in the magazine well, therefore a reduced size magazine must be used to maintain the original gun's shape. This reduced size magazine does not leave room for a slide catch mechanism. The simulator uses a hose coupling between the magazine connection piece and the compressed gas cylinder that is difficult to connect and keep connected. The simulator has a connection valve with a protruding pin on top of the magazine, which can hang up when received into the simulator. The simulator has a separate fill valve at the bottom of the magazine that is used to either fill the magazine or attach a hose to provide compressed gas to the simulator. The simulator also uses a switchover valve to activate the valve tappet that complicates the firing mechanism and the compressed gas vents through a slip fit around the striker that reduces the efficiency of the simulator. The above-discussed attributes of the simulator provide for a very complicated and inefficient retrofit to a real weapon. The training firearm discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,285 can be a retrofitted pistol with a blow-back assembly that uses a CO2 cartridge in a modified magazine. The recoil actuator of this simulator is built into the rear portion of the original pistol slide; therefore it requires the weapon slide to be milled out and is then no longer usable for live ammunition. Also, a flexible hose connection between the magazine and barrel is problematic. In this simulator, the magazine cannot be removed easily due to the magazine being tethered to the blow-back assembly in the barrel of the gun and the design of the magazine does not provide room for a slide catch. These changes prevent the simulator from providing a realistic feel of a real weapon. The bolt locking assembly for firearm simulators described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,197,973 provides slide lock simulation by electro-pneumatic means using a pneumatic recoil valve with a pilot valve, which can only be applied to a specially built simulated firearm. This prevents the simulator from being able to provide the realistic feel of a real weapon. The simulator described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,462 has a low-pressure gas recoiling system controlled by an electric pilot valve. This is a more complex design that requires both electricity and gas to produce recoil in the simulator.
The disadvantage of known simulators is that they are either built as non/firing gas operated replicas or they are converted real pistols where the conversion of the pistol to a simulator is difficult to implement, the conversion often requiring a specially trained technician to install the conversion components into the pistol and often making the conversion of the pistol to a simulator irreversible.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an apparatus for converting a pistol into a weapon simulator so that the weapon simulator provides a realistic firing sensation by providing the proper feel and balance, the proper trigger response, the proper action of the slide mechanism, and the proper recoil without the drawbacks of the present prior art.
It is therefore desirable to develop a novel apparatus for converting a pistol into a weapon simulator that does not require permanent alternation to the pistol to allow the pistol to accommodate the apparatus so that the pistol can alternate between being a weapon simulator and being a working pistol that fires live ammunition.
It is also desirable to develop a novel apparatus for converting a pistol into a weapon simulator such that the apparatus does not require special tools to convert the pistol into a weapon simulator.
It is also desirable to develop a new apparatus that converts a real pistol, that fires live ammunition, to a weapon simulator, that fires a laser pulse beam, so that training to use the pistol can be accomplished in a safe environment.
It is also desirable to develop a new apparatus for converting a pistol to a weapon simulator that uses a standard source of compressed gas that can easily obtained in the marketplace and can be easily replaced in the simulator when the compressed gas has been expended.
It is also desirable to develop a new apparatus for converting a pistol to a weapon simulator that uses only a pneumatic source of energy to operate the weapon simulator.
It is also desirable to develop a new apparatus for converting a pistol that allows the use of a means for providing a remote source of compressed gas that does not require a permanent modification to the pistol.
It is also desirable to develop a new apparatus for converting a pistol that count shots and locks the slide of the weapon in the open position after the correct number of shots are fired by the weapon simulator to replicate a pistol's response to the last bullet being fired by the pistol.
It is also desirable to provide a new apparatus for converting a pistol to a weapon simulator that has a transmitter means that provides a signal to a remote supervisory system to monitor the shots fired by the simulator during training.